Downtown Sycamore merchants stay open late for Moonlight Magic

KATIE FINLON kfinlon@shawmedia.comNovember 17, 2018

SYCAMORE – Chad and Beth Gregory of Sycamore were out and about running errands with their young children, Evie and Lily, Friday when they decided to take a detour to check out some downtown Sycamore businesses gearing up for the holiday season.

Chad Gregory said as his daughters looked at nearby live window displays that his family has lived in the area for 12 years, but it was their first time seeing performers in the storefronts of downtown businesses during this year’s Moonlight Magic event.

“It’s great to see the girls’ reactions to the different window displays,” Chad Gregory said.

Discover Sycamore and the Illinois Community Credit Union hosted the eighth annual Moonlight Magic event Friday evening, in which downtown businesses stayed open late to help kick off the holiday shopping season.

Beth Gregory also watched puppies from Tails Humane Society that were available for adoption with her daughters in the front window of Luxe Salon, 352 W. State St.

“Everything seems so different and magical at night, lit up with all the dancers,” Beth Gregory said.

Rose Treml, executive director for the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce, said the window performances were added to the nighttime sales event in 2011. She said the idea to have the window displays “come to life” came after she and others from the city saw a community in Wisconsin doing something similar.

“We thought it was just adorable and thought we could bring it here,” Treml said.

Treml said the event always is the Friday before Thanksgiving to beat Black Friday sales on top of Nov. 24 being Shop Small Saturday, when the chamber tries to promote the idea to shop small and local.

Lizzy Oparyk, owner of Lizzy’s Pink Boutique, said this was her second year participating in the event. She said Moonlight Magic allows residents and visitors to get to know the business owners in the downtown area.

“It really brings the community together, and we get to see young, talented artists performing,” Oparyk said.